Cooling apparatus



May 8, 1934. M. D. WOODRUFF 5T AL, 1,958,291

COOLING APPARATUS Filed DSC. 21, 1933 2 Sheet$-5heet l oo N LIN rv NINVENTORS ATTORNEYS May 8, 1934. M. D. WOODRUFF ET A1.

COOLING APPARATUS AFiled Dec. 2l, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 III I//IllllalINVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented May 8,l 1934 UNITED STATES COOLING APPARATUSMaurice D. Woodrud, William H. Mechlin, and Jonathan' Markley,Springield, Ohio, assigner to The Bauer Brothers Company, Springfield,Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 21, 1933, Serial No.703,437 9 Claims. (Cl. 34--33) This invention relates to improvements incooling apparatus for such material as roasted coffee, roasted peanutsand the like, the invention relating more particularly to means wherebythe delivery of cooled material is heldin substantially equalproportions to the quantity of roasted material supplied for cooling.

The improved cooler is/especially adapted to employment in connection.with the continuous roasting apparatus shown and described in ourco-pending application Serial No. 703,436, led Dec. 2l, 1933, a portionof which is shown in elevation in the present drawings, andthe ob- 1ject of. the invention is to eectively cool .the

material and to govern the quantity discharged from the cooler accordingto the amount received from the roasting apparatus, so that there willbe maintained at all timesa uniform depth of material in the coolerregardless of the rate of now from the roasting apparatus, resulting inpreventing the material from owing too rapidly through the cooler,particularly when the flow from the roasting apparatus is slow.

Other objects of the invention will be obvious from the accompanyingdescription and claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is a view mainly in side elevation,but

with a small portion in vertical section, of the improved coolingapparatus attached to the dis- 3 charge end of the previously mentionedcontinuous'roasting machine, a fragment of which is shown conventionallyin side elevation with side casings removed.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of a detail of thecooler. y Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sec tion on theline 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary end elevation of the cooler with some of theparts partly broken away. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section, the sectionbeing taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 isa slightly enlarged fragmentary vertical section on the line 66 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is-a slightly enlarged fragmentary section on the line '7-7 ofFig. 5.

Referring to the drawings, the frame-work of the cooler consists of thehorizontally disposed angle-section members 1 and 1 and the at barmembers 2 and 2 (Fig. 4). These members are arranged in pairs, the pair2 and 2 being located directly below the pair 1 and 1'.. A portion ofthe roasting machine is shown conventionally at R, and fragments of twosupporting legs thereof y are indicated at L and L". The cooler frame isattached to these legs, the members 1 and 2 being wise the materialwould gravitate so rapidly secured to the roaster leg L, while themembers 1 and 2 are attached to the leg L. Vertical stays 3 and 3' areemployed to brace the cooler frame members 1, 1, 2 and 2', the stays 3'being extended downwardly below the members 2 and 2' for a purpose whichwill appear later.

The present cooler is especially adapted to being employed in connectionwith the continuously operated roasting machine which is the `subjectmatter of the co-pending application previously mentioned. In order thatthorough cooling will be obtained of the comparatively large amounts ofmaterial that may possibly be run through the two machines the presentcooler is provided with a hopper so devised that a large mass isretained therein at all times 'so as to prolong the time that thematerial is acted upon by the cooling agent, which in the present caseis an air flow induced by a suction fan (not shown) the suction conduitof which is connected with the stationary stack member of the coolerhereinafter described.

To facilitate the flow of material through the hopper, the hopper isprovided with a sloping bottom as will be described, with a variabledischarge opening at the lower portion thereof, and after the correctlysized mass is built up in the hopper, it will be seen that to maintainthat mass, it is only necessary to discharge from the hopper, only somuch material as is being delivered there- 85 to. This is the reason foremploying a variable discharge opening, the size of which is varied tothe point of being totally closed atrtimes, as otherthrough the hopperas to be but partially cooled.

To provide that the material is held back sufli- Vciently to beeffectively cooled, the hopper is arranged so as to be pivotally andresiliently supported, and at times to be swung to a closed positionuntil a certain level of material is built up in the hopper. Theresilient supporting means (tension springs) are adjusted so that by anincrease above the level of the material mentioned, the additionalweight will overcome the tension existing in the springs, whereby thehopper will swing slightly and an amount will be dischargedsubstantially Aequal to the amount being received. There is anotherreason for building up the mass of material to the level indicated,which as will be explained will appear to be comparatively high, thisreason being that the air flowing upwardly through the hopper, and if asmall quantity only were to be held back, the air would short circuitaround the small mass and would only partially cool that mass.

The hopper is composed of sheet metal, and has two side sheets 4 and 4'disposed in parallel vertical planes within the frame-work of thecooler. The lower edges of the side sheets are cut at an angle slopingdownwardly from the roasting machine R whereby when the hopper bottomsheet 5 is attached to. the loweredges of the side sheets a slopingbottom for the hopper is provided. The hopper bottom sheet 5 isperforated throughout its extent to provide for the passage therethroughof the cooling air as will be explained.

The upper portions of the side plates 4 and 4' are so formed that withthe addition of the transversely disposed sheets 6 and 7 (Fig. 5) astack of rectangular cross-section, in the present case, is provided.The material enters the cooler from the open end of the roaster conveyorC6 and falls on an inclined imperforate plate 6' which is a continuationof the sheet 6 and is placed in an angular position as shown in Fig. 5,in order to spread the material efliciently and to break the fall. Thetransverse sheet 7 is extended downwardly to a point closely adjacentthe edge 5' of the bottom sheet 5 leaving a narrow, horizontallydisposed opening y8 (Fig. 5). Another smaller sheet 9 is attached to theupper edge of the bottom sheet 5 and extends upwardly to just below theportion of the conveyor C6 projecting over the hopper.

'I'he receiving end of the hopper is pivotally supported by the roasterframe on knife edges in order to reduce the friction. A knife edge 10(Fg.2) is formed in each end of a rod 11 which is inserted in the upperends of a pair. of straps 12, a strap 12 being attached by bolting orother suitable means to each side of the hopper at the roaster endthereof. 1 To each leg L and L of the roaster frame is secured a plate15 having attached thereto preferably by welding a forwardly extendingarm 14, and in each of the upper edges of arms 14 a V-notch 13 is cutinto which a knife edge 10 is placed.

The remainder of the hopper weightV is carried by a pair of resilientsuspension means, one on each side of the hopper at the end thereofopposite the pivotal support. Each suspension member depends fromauxiliary cooler frame members attached to and extending beyond theupper frame members 1 and 1', and each suspension member contains acoiled spring 16 and 16 respectively, which forms the resilient membersthereof, the springs being placed in tension when the weight is placedon them. The other parts of each suspension member are the links 17 and18 on the right'hand of Fig. 4 and the links 17' and 13' on the leftside. As shown, the lower end of a link 17 or 17 is hooked into theupper end of a spring 16 or 16'while the spring is hooked to a strap 20,there being a strap 20 attached on each side of the hopper.Y

The upper ends of the links 18 and 18' are threaded and passed throughthe extended ends 19' and 22 respectively of the auxiliary frame members19 and 22, and nuts 23 and 23 are threaded on the links 18 and 18respectively whereby proper tension is given the springs.

However, to elevate the hopper manually, use is made of a lever 21 whichis pi'votally connected to the vertical leg of the auxiliary framemember 22 and which may be depressed to the broken line position(Fig. 1) as desired, and retained there by a bent latch 21'. 0n the leftside of the cooler as seen in Fig. 4, the nut 23' bears on the upperside of the auxiliary frame member 19, whereas on the right side, thecompanion nut 23 bears Qn the short arm of the lever 21. Properadjustment of a loaded hopper consists in depressing the lever 21 to thebroken line position, and running each nut 23 and 23 down on therespective threaded ends of the links 18 and 18 until the tension on thesprings is sufficient to draw the hopper upwardly to the extent that atransverse sheet such as the sheet 7 stands vertically. It will be seenthat any additional weight carried bythe hopper will result in adownward swing thereof, the dotdash arc 24 in Fig. 5 showing the path ofmovement made by the lower edge 5' of the hopper in such a swing.

The discharge opening 8 of the hopper is of fixed size and to vary theamount that can be discharged from this opening a gate 25 is adjustablysecured to the cooler frame in such position as to be extendedhorizontally across the opening 8 and to entirely close the same whenthe hopper is empty.

When the hopper is full, the load on the springs is increased and thehopper swings downwardly and increases the size of the opening, whichsize will vary with the swinging movement of the hopper and thusdischarge more or less material, as the case may be. The gate 25 isadjustably secured at each end to a comparatively short flat bar member27 whose lower end is cut diagonally so that the gate will be positionedat an angle with the vertical approximating the slope of the arc 24, andthe nature of the adjustment is such that the gate is movable along thisangular line.

One each of the short bars 27 is in turn adjustably secured to the lowerend of the vertical frame members 3' and is formed with elongated boltholes so placed that the possible adjustment is in a vertical plane asseen. The result of the two adjustable movements is that the gate may bereadily lowered or raised to or from the edge 5 in a vertical directionand in an angular direction as well.

In order that the bottom edge 5' may be maintained sufficiently straightso that its coaction with the gate will be effective to cut off the nowof material, the bottom sheet 5 is stiiened at intervals by the use-ofthe bolting arrangement shown in section in Fig. 7. Secured preferablyby welding to the lower edgesof the side plates 4 and 4' adjacent theedge 5 of the bottom sheet 5 is an angle member 28 having one legparallel to the bottom sheet 5, and a plurality of bolts 29 is passeddownwardly through openings in the bottom sheet 5 and also through theparallel leg ofthe angle member 28. A plurality of nuts is employed oneach bolt 29 as seen whereby by adjustment adjacent portions of thesheet 5 may be forced upwardly or brought downwardlyas required toproduce a straight and effective edge.

It is preferable that thin spots in the mass of material are avoidedsince the cooling air will nd such spots and will pass therethrough inpreference to` other thicker places whereby poor cooling will result. Toprovide that the mass will be of uniform thickness, a second perforatedhopper plate 31 (Fig. 5) is employed and is placed above the bottomsheet 5 in spaced apart parallel relation thereto. As seen in Fig. 5,the upper plate 31 extends from the lower edge of the spreader plate 6'downwardly to the end sheet 7, and when the space is lled the massmaterial will be of uniform depth.

The operation of the cooler is as follows: The lever 21 is forceddownwardly to the broken line position and latched under the bent latchmember 2 1 1). I'his pulls the hopper upwardly until the dischargeopening thereof is completely closed by the gate 25.

The material is then allowed to discharge from the roaster conveyor C6,filling up the space between the perforated plates 5 and 31 and betweenthe spreader plate 6 and end sheet 9 until the material reaches thelevel indicated by the dot-dash line 32 (Figs. 1 and 5) The object inhaving the material level at this height is to prevent afiow of thecooling air from entering the hopper stack through any exposed portionof the upper perforated plate 31 from the vicinity of the lower edge ofthe spreader plate 6. With the level at the height shown, the air findsa uniform depth of material ahead of it, and practically all of the airthat eventually passes through the openings the upper perforated plate31 will have first passed through the openings in the hopper bottom 5and through lthe mass of material.

When the material has reached the proper level as indicated, the tensionon the springs is adjusted so that the hopper is vertical, by which ismeant that such sheets as 6, 7 or 9 stand vertically. The gate 25` isthen adjusted until the lower edge 25' is in perfect alignment with 'theedge 5' of the hopper bottom. The lever 21 is returned to thefull lineposition (Fig. 1), this movement partially relieving the tension of thespring on that side and further so affecting the spring on the otherside that the hopper sinks and discharges an amount of material. Sincethe first material to leave the hopper is that material which collectedtherein during the time the hopper was filling to the level, it isinsured that such material is thoroughly cooled.l

As soon as any material leaves the hopper, the weight is therebylessened to that extent, which lessening may, ormay not, be made up bythematerial entering the hopper. If the material entering is now lessthan heretofore, the springs, aided by the upward force of the coolingdraft, act

to decrease the opening and thereby a discharge of less materialresults. If a greater quantity enters, obviously the hopper descendsfurther and agreater amount is discharged; in either event, theequilibrium which is alwaysmaintained between the spring tension and thecombined weight of the hopper--itself and the contained material isvaried only by the iniiow of material in greater or less quantities,with a corresponding'change in the amounts of material permitted todischarge.

By depressing and latching the lever 21 at times during the operation,the discharge of the material from the hopper may be cut o'; suchstoppage can only be of a temporary nature, as there is no mechanicalconnection with the roaster and delivery therefrom is not affected.

After the air passes upwardly through the upper perforated sheet 31 itascends through the stack hopper, and thence into a stack 33 which issupported by the cooler frame members I" and 1' and the angle members 19and 22 previously mentioned. The lower end of the upper stack 33 has atelescoping connection with the upper end of the hopper stack, withsuflicient running clearance to insure that the free movement of thehopper is made without friction of the telescoping portions. It will befurther noticed that the pivotal knife edges are ldcated in a horizontalplane at substantially the same level as the top portion of the stackhopper, whereby the arcuate movements of the telescoping portion of thestack hopper within the frame-supported stack are so nearly in alignmentwith the vertical sides of the latter stack that the clearance betweenthe stacks may be held to a The process of roasting such material aspeanuts sometimes loosens the skins thereof which are caught by aircurrents entering the clearance space between the hopper stack and thestationary stack. This is particularly true of the space adjacent thesheet 6, and to prevent any interferenceto free movement of thehoppercaused by the packing of skins in the clearance space at thispoint; a baille member 34 (Fig. 5) is secured to the outer surface ofthe sheet 6 just below the lower edge of the stationary stack. Thisbaille causes a diversion in upward currents whereby the skins do notrise and enter the clearance space.

With the same material it may happen that the germs will become brittleand break off from the kernels. The germs gravitate into the hopper andare carried upwardly through the upper perforated sheet 31, but beingtoo heavy to be carried out through the stacks, fall to and collect onthe perforated sheet 3l. If any considerable amount remains on the sheet31 the air flow is, concentrated at other parts of the hopper withprobable poor cooling asa result. To provide for removal of portions ofmaterial collecting as described, an opening covered by a removablecover plate 35 (Fig. 4) is fitted to the lower portion of the end sheet'7. 105

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a cooler of the character described, a movable hopper having aninclined perforated bottom and a normally covered discharge opening atthe lower end of said bottom, means to supply material to said hopper,yieldable means for supporting said hopper adapted to yield upon apredetermined load in said hopper and permit said hopper to move touncover said opening and allow material to discharge through saidopening in quantities proportionate to the amount supplied to saidhoppenand a suction conduit communicating with said hopper above themasterial carried on said perforated bottom.

2. In a cooler of the character described, a movable hopper having aninclined perforated bottom and an inclined perforated top forming avchute having a discharge opening, means to supply material to the upperen'd of said chute, yieldable means fory supporting said hopper adaptedto yield upon a predetermined load in said hopper to permit material todischarge through said opening in quantities proportionate to the amountsupplied to the upper end of said chute, and an air suction conduitcommunicating with said hopper above the perforated top thereof.

3. In a, cooler of the character described. a movable hopper having aninclined perforated bottom, said hopper having a discharge opening,means to normally close said opening, resilient means for sustaining,said hopper adapted to yield upon a predeterminedload in said hopperand permitJ said hopper to move to uncover said opening, and an airsuction conduit communicating with said hopper above` the perforatedbottom thereof. l

4. In va cooler of the character described, a hopper having an inclinedperforatedy bottom, said hopper having a discharge opening, means tonormally close said opening, a pivotal support for one end of saidhopper, and resilient means for sustaining the other end'of said hopperadapted to yield upon a predetermined load in said hopper and permitsaid hopper to move downwardly to uncover said opening, and an airsuction conduit communicating with said hopper above the perforatedbottom thereof.

5. In a cooler of the character described, a movable hopper havinganinclined perforated bottom and an inclined perforated top, said hopperhaving a discharge opening, stationary means to normally close saidopening, resilient'i means for sustaining said hopper adapted to yieldupon a predetermined load in said hopper and permit said hopper to moveto uncover said opening, and 'an air suction conduit-communicating withsaid hopper above the perforated top thereof.

6. In a cooler of the character described, a movable hopper having aninclined perforated bottom and an inclined perforated top to form achute, said hopper having a discharge opening at the lower end of saidchute, stationary means to normally close said opening, resilient meansfor sustaining said hopper adapted to yield upon a predetermined load insaid hopper and permit said hopper to move to uncover said opening, andan air suction conduit communicating with said hopper above theperforated top thereof.

'lower end thereof, means to normally close said opening, resilientmeans for sustaining said hopper adapted to yield upon a predeterminedload in said hopper and permit said hopper to move downwardly to uncoversaid opening, and an air suction conduit communicating with said hopperabove the perforated top thereof.

8. In a cooler of the character described, a movable hopper having aninclined perforated bottom and an inclined perforated top forming achute, said chute having a discharge opening at the lower end thereof,means to normally close said opening, pivotal means to support the upperend of said hopper, resilient means to support the lower end of saidhopper adapted to yield upon a predetermined load in said hopper topermit said hopper to move to uncover said opening, and an air suctionconduit communicating with said hopper above the perforated top thereof.

9. In a cooler of the character described, a movable hopper having aperforated bottom and a' normally closed discharge opening, a suctionconduit carried by said hopper above said bottom, a stationary stacktelescoped with said conduit, a pivotal support' for one end of saidhopper in line with the telescopic joint between said conduit and stack,and yieldable means to support the other end of said hopper to permitthe hopper to swing about its pivotal support upon a predetermined loadin said hopper to uncover said discharge opening.

